Catch-Up

Why does it always feel like I am behind nowadays? It seems that I am always trying to catch-up on something. Between my new love of crocheting, traveling, unpacking (our things finally arrived from Austria last week!!), decorating, crafting and constant eating (hello pregnancy!), I feel like there just isn't enough time in the day.

Right now we are currently in Salzburg, visiting our old stomping grounds. Jason has been traveling for three weeks now. He was supposed to continue on to China after Salzburg without me but that was pushed back a couple weeks, thank goodness. I wanted to visit him in the middle of his trip because four weeks away from my hubby is just far too long. His travel schedule is draining for the both of us. Although it is nice to be home with friends and family, it just isn't the same when he is gone.  I mean, it gets pretty lonely after a while and who is going to protect me from the ghosts at night? I swear our house is haunted but that is a whole different story. Anyway, it is freezing cold here in Salzburg (I can't believe I already forgot how cold it is! Selective memory I suppose..) but it is so great to spend time with my lovely friends while Jason is working. I really miss these girls!! And, I get to spend Sego's 35th birthday with her today. Yippee!!

Did I mention that I am a terrible wife? Jason's birthday was on Friday. He turned 41. Not too exciting of a birthday and I sure didn't help. Jason was supposed to meet me in Salzburg and wasn't due to arrive until Saturday morning so I arranged a girl's dinner for Friday night (Jason's birthday). His schedule got moved around and he actually arrived that morning in Munich, an hour after my flight landed so we drove to Salzburg together. All of the girl's already RSVP'd and Jason didn't want me to cancel (I did ask him though!!). Needless to say, I spent his birthday with 12 of my sweet friends at dinner. He ate at the same restaurant but at a different table, so technically he came too. I still feel pretty bad about it. I guess I will just have to make up for it when we get home. ;) I had such a lovely time with my sweet friends and it was so nice to catch up. It was almost as if I never left!

The most exciting news of the week though is that my very best friend got ENGAGED this weekend!! I got a text message while in Salzburg to call her right away and I had a strong feeling that this was the news (I sure was hoping anyway!). So, now I am not only excited to meet my sweet baby girl but I am also super excited for all of the upcoming wedding festivities to come. What a year it will be!! Congrats Jessica and Hutto!! I am beyond thrilled for you guys!!

And for those of you that want a little pregnancy update, everything is going very well. I am measuring exactly where I am supposed to be and I am feeling lots of sweet kicks. Feeling the kicks is simply amazing and I can't seem to get enough of it! I am not sure how I got so lucky but I haven't had ANY morning sickness during my whole pregnancy. The first trimester I was a bit tired and run down and for some reason wasn't into sweets at all but my how things can change!  I am well into my second trimester now (almost into my third!) and my appetite grows by the day, right along with my belly. It's almost scary. And I can't seem to get enough sweets. I've been going to the gym pretty regularly, so hopefully it will all cancel out. ;) Besides the back pain, I feel great! I am 26 weeks right now, so not too much longer before sweet baby girl makes her appearance. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. These next few months are going to fly by, I just know it!! Did I mention that I can't wait to meet our sweet little girl?! Ahhhh I am so excited!!

Before I sign out I also want to give a belated birthday shout out to my Dad and brother Luke. They have the same birthday which is pretty cool. It was last week. Luke is living out in California now so unfortunately he wasn't here to celebrate his big 2-5 with us. We did celebrate with my Dad though. So happy birthday, guys! I love you!!

Well, that's all for now folks. I will make sure to post again real soon!! xx

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!! 

I am going to keep this post short and sweet. I don't want to post about the sweet words Jason spoke to me or the thoughtful gifts he bought me (even though he is out of town). The reason is this- my husband is a sweet man no matter what day it is! The only reason why I love him more today than I did yesterday is because our love grows with every passing moment and I am so thankful to have him in my life. I already have the best gift I could have in the world and one on the way- my loving husband and my sweet baby girl. What else does a girl need?! 

I love you, my sweet man!! 

Now go spread the love!! xx

LoveMyKnots

Since moving to the States, I have been obsessed with Etsy and Pinterest. I have been doing all sorts of projects and crafts and I just love it!

On a whim today, I decided to open an Etsy shop. I've been starting to crochet baby blankets and figured I would sell a couple online. So if you want to take a peek, my shop is www.etsy.com/shop/lovemyknots. I am just getting started and have only made a couple but will be adding a bunch of blankets as I go. 

If any of my friends are interested, I can make these blankets custom made so you can choose your colors. Let me know if you want to buy one. :)

I hope you LoveMyKnots! xx

Nathan is 3!!

On Sunday, this little guy turned 3!! I can't believe it! Where does the time go?! I am so lucky to be his Aunt. Nathan is such a fun little guy and he says the funniest things. He is such a great little helper too! On Tuesday I went over to my parent's house to clean out some of my old boxes and he helped go through some things. As we went through a bag of my old teddy bears, he said to me, "now that one's just adorable!" I love how independent and fun he is and he is sooo smart. It has been such a pleasure watching him grow up. It is so nice to be so close so I can watch Lily and Isabelle grow up too. And of course, it will be so nice to have cousins right around the corner for my sweet little bun in the oven. Anyway, Happy 3rd Birthday, Nathan!! We love you!! xx

Coaster Project

I love Pinterest. Seriously, I have gotten extremely inspired by some of the things I have seen whether it is a project, a decorating idea or baby nursery ideas. Jason went out of town in the beginning of January and I decided that I wanted to make him a little surprise while he was gone. As many of you know, Jason is a wonderful photographer. It has come in handy because we have so many beautiful pictures to choose from to decorate our new home. I decided that I wanted to take some of the pictures that he has taken and that I would make them into coasters for our living room. We got brand new furniture and I didn't want it to be ruined, after all. Why not have really nice pictures to look at that also serve a purpose? So, I was on a mission to get them done in one evening. 

I recruited my Mom so she could come shopping with me although I was adamant that she didn't help me while actually making the coasters (except for spraying the sealer at the very end since it had a warning for pregnant women). The whole project cost me about $30 and I absolutely love them. 

Here is what we did:

1. First we picked out the pictures we wanted to use and printed them out. 

2. We went to Hobby Lobby and got antique modge podge, clear acrylic spray, felt, waterproof craft glue and craft sponge applicators. 

3. We went to Home Depot and picked out bathroom tiles. I chose the mint green clear ones that are decorative tiles because I wanted all of the sides to be smooth. They cost almost $3 a tile but were totally worth it though you could get much cheaper tiles if you don't care too much. 

4. We laid out padding so we didn't ruin the kitchen table. Newspaper would work too. 

5. I took the craft sponge and modge podged the tile and placed the picture on the tile. Then I modge podged a thin layer over the picture making strokes in one direction. I let it dry for about 15 minutes or until it was no longer sticky. 

6. Once dry, I went over the tile in the opposite direction with the modge podge for texture and so it looked more like a canvas. I repeated this step 3-4 times, alternating directions, so the picture is on really good then I let them dry. 

7. Once completely dry, my Mom took them outside and sprayed them with the clear acrylic spray. We coated them 2-3 times, letting it dry for a few minutes in between each coat. Then we let them dry completely for 24-48 hours. 

8. The following day I took the waterproof craft glue and glued the felt to the bottom of each coaster. I glued a complete square but you could also do four little circles if you wanted. Then I let the glue dry completely for 24 hours. 

9. There you have it, gorgeous coasters from our travels all over the world. :)

 I love them!! I can't wait to start my next little pinterest project. So much fun!! xx

Our Miracle Baby- The Cat Is Out Of The Bag!

As many of you know, I am currently 21 weeks pregnant. What some of you don't know, however, is how we got here. I'm sure you are thinking that you learned about the birds and the bees a long time ago and are wondering what I am talking about. Well, for some it is easier/possible to get pregnant naturally and for others it is not. In order to be where we are, we had to go through IVF. I originally wasn't going to "expose" ourselves on the topic because it really is no one's business. Then I decided that I wanted to help shed some light for those who are considering or are going through the IVF process. I researched a lot before we went through it and was desperately searching for stories of people who went through it. I wanted to read about people's experiences, not about the medical procedure since we were well informed about that before we even started. I wanted to know what to expect and just had so many questions that needed to be answered from real people. Some answers I am glad that I never found but others I wish I was prepared for.

I have been wanting to write this post for quite a while but have continued to put it off. It wasn't until I read another blog that I follow  where Gwen requested a guest poster about infertility that I decided to finally bite the bullet and write about our journey.

Gwen just featured us on her blog, which was super exciting. If you want to see it, go HERE. If you are too lazy, here it is posted below:

Hello my fellow gweninlove readers! 

Lauren here from reallifeexpatwife.blogspot.com. As usual, I was reading through Gwen’s blog and came across her post asking for guest bloggers. As soon as I read the request for someone to write about “How to Enjoy Sex through Infertility”, I jumped at the chance. Here’s our story. 

My husband Jason and I have been married for a year and a half. I am 28 and he is 40. We met while dressed up at a Halloween party and had no clue of our age difference until our very first date where I found out more about him than I had bargained for. During that date, he spilled the beans about previously being married for 17 years, having two teenagers and about his divorce. I’m not sure if he told me that night or soon thereafter but he also made mention of the fact that he was snipped at the ripe old age of 20 thinking that he was done (he was a young daddy). I wasn’t concerned in the slightest because I had just gotten out of my previous relationship and wasn’t looking for anything serious at all. It didn’t even phase me because “it wasn’t like I was going to marry him, right?” It’s funny how things work out, isn’t it?

After dating for a little over a month, Jason told me that he was being transferred to Singapore for work. We discussed parting ways shortly after he found out so neither of us would get too attached or hurt but neither of us were ready because we were having so much fun. During one discussion I jokingly said, “Well, why don’t I just come with you then?” He said that if I was serious, he would make it happen. Three months later, in March, we were engaged. Then off we went to Singapore in April. We were so in love, happily engaged, and seeking adventure without a care in the world. We spoke about having our very own family one day and were very excited with what the future would hold. 

When we spoke about having kids (before we were married) we planned that Jason would have a vasectomy reversal the fall after our wedding. It can take up to a year for the procedure to work and we knew we wanted kids sooner than later. Jason had it stuck in his head that he is an old man and didn’t want to look like the Grandpa at their high school graduation (like that could ever happen!). At this point, we had moved from Singapore and were living in Salzburg, Austria so we started researching doctors who were experienced in the field. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that at 27 years old I would be hoping, praying to have a miracle baby with my sweet husband. 

In November 2011, Jason had his procedure done. After seeing the pain he went through I couldn’t help but think how much he loves me. Seriously, I felt so bad for him and wish that pain on no one. The doctor told us that because he is so young and healthy, it would most likely work and that when he felt better we could start going at it. 

When Jason finally let me near that region, we starting trying. It was so fun and exciting thinking that this time could be it. Rather than being discouraged, each month brought more excitement because it just had to work sooner or later. The doctor said so. I must have taken six or seven pregnancy tests before I started to feel like something just wasn’t right. Why was something that was supposed to be so right feel so wrong? 

We went back to the doctor the following summer and found out that the procedure didn’t work yet and that he was still shooting blanks. Here’s the kicker though- the doctor said that it could clear out and work eventually or maybe it just didn’t work at all. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that it wouldn’t work. It had to work. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) was tossed around in the very beginning but I was just certain that the reversal would work. We talked about our options and decided that instead of waiting to see if it would eventually work (maybe the goop just didn’t clear out of the pipes yet) that we would start our journey through IVF. We decided that we would enjoy the summer and if I still wasn’t pregnant come the end of August, we would start IVF in September. 

In June, we came back to the States and found an amazing doctor we wanted to work with. Jason had his little procedure done (called a sperm aspiration) and all his little guys were frozen in case we needed them come September. I’m surprised he even let a needle near that area again. See, I told you he loves me!! 

August eventually came and I was still not pregnant. We came back to the States in September where I went through my exams, rounds of fertility drugs, and then had my egg retrieval and finally the egg transfer. Can I just tell you how emotional the process was? Especially the dreaded 2ww (two week wait) to see if the egg/s actually took. I took two pregnancy tests trying not to be discouraged before getting my BFP (big fat positive)!! 

So here I am, 20 weeks pregnant with our little miracle baby. Looking back at all of the obstacles that we had to go through to get to this point, I am reminded how blessed I am and that each and every baby is a miracle no matter how it gets here. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t wish we could have a baby the “normal” way but going through something like this has made our relationship so much stronger and will forever tell our child how much he or she was wanted. 

With that being said, we thoroughly enjoyed each other through out our whole infertility adventure because we never knew when or if his reversal would work. We figured if it was meant to be, it would be. So who knows, after this little one maybe by the grace of God his reversal will have unclogged and maybe, just maybe we can get pregnant again the natural way. All I know is that after baby number two, Jason said he is going to get snipped again. I can’t even believe this crazy talk of him wanting someone to yet again mess with his manhood. I mean who knows, what if he wants more? ;)

So the moral of the story is, just keep on loving each other. Enjoy each embrace, each intimate moment together because you never know when or how your little miracle baby will get here. Best of luck to those who are planning to be or are on this crazy journey. I know exactly how you feel and wish you nothing but tons of baby dust!! Much love to you all. xx

So that's our story in a nutshell. Obviously I didn't really touch on the fact that it is a VERY emotional time. Not only because of all the crazy hormones but also because no one is guaranteed 100% that it will work. It was seriously the hardest thing I have ever gone through. The 2ww was the absolute worst. I am thankful we made it through it and I am so very blessed that it worked the very first time. I am thankful for the experience because I am a stronger person because of it and I know we can make it through anything together. Oh yeah, and I am super excited to meet our sweet baby in JUNE!! :)

Happy New Year!!

I know I am a little late but Happy New Year nonetheless. I can't believe that it is already 2013! Where does the time go?! 

This year has already been crazy busy and if it is any indication as to what is in store for us this year, we are going to be in for one heck of a ride! This year is going to be full of blessings and I can't wait to see what is in store for us. I guess the biggest news of the year that I am now allowed to share is that Jason and I are going to be Grandparents again. Kaitlyn is pregnant with her first baby and is due just 6 short weeks after me.  Crazy, huh? We are all very excited that our family is growing even bigger. :)

Our move back home was anything BUT uneventful. Upon our arrival, Jason broke his kneecap at the airport. He tripped over a piece of luggage and fell right on his knee on concrete. God must really have a sense of humor because that is pretty much the last thing that we needed to add to our list of things to do when we got back. Fortunately he is ok and is in a brace (and not a cast) and will likely not need surgery. I didn't see the actual fall and figured he just bruised it or pulled something so poor guy still carried all the luggage, checked into our hotel, bought phones at Verizon and went with me to my parent's house before we decided to take him to urgent care. Ooops! I still feel terrible. I guess he should have cried or something. ;) I will tell you that Jason has the biggest pain tolerance of anyone I have met so props to him. Still not sure if that is a good thing or not at this point though. 

The very next day, Jason and I went looking for houses with Jenny. Poor Jason didn't even have his knee brace at the time and came along, broken knee and all (seriously, this man is amazing!). After looking at a dozen houses, we finally found the perfect fit for us. We put our application in and were able to celebrate Christmas a little less stressed. 

Christmas went by like a whirlwind. Sunday we celebrated our niece Isabelle's 1st birthday. Christmas Eve was spent at my parent's house with both mine and Jason's family. It was so nice to have our whole family all together! Then Christmas morning we were at my parent's house opening gifts in the morning and then went to Jason's sister's house to spend time with his family that afternoon. 

After all the Christmas craziness, we finally moved into our new place on Friday, Dec. 28. Thank goodness we have such great family and friends who helped us move since Jason wasn't able to do very much and I am not supposed to lift anything too heavy. I keep joking that Jason planned on breaking his knee so he didn't have to work too hard with the move. ;) In all seriousness though, it is so good to finally be in our place! I still have a lot of work to do and we are still waiting on our stuff from Austria but what a relief it is to have one more thing checked off our list. 

On Sunday the 30th, Jason and I went to our first Falcons game together. It was so nice to get out and just relax, just the two of us on a date. I was starting to get a cold and the Falcons ended up losing but it was still a blast! 

New Year's Eve was not exciting at all. That morning I woke up with a full on, terrible cold. I went to the doctor and got put on antibiotics and was out of it from my meds and was just feeling crummy all day. We stayed home for the night and Jason got some BBQ from my parent's house and brought it home for dinner while I was just miserable. I fell asleep on the couch around 8:30pm and woke up at 11:57pm, just in time to watch the ball drop. We cleaned up a bit and went to bed. I knew this year wasn't going to be too exciting since I am pregnant but that is just not what I had in mind. Oh well!! 

New Year's Day we spent at my friend Jessica's. She had several friends over and it was so good to finally catch up with them. Afterwards, Jason went back to the house to play on his Xbox from Santa while I visited with my family for a bit. I still wasn't feeling the best but it was good to get out for a bit. 

The rest of the time we have been home, Jason has been working and I have been shopping for things around the house and trying to get everything organized. Little by little it is all coming together. I can't wait to be finished! 

We had a wonderful weekend this weekend too! I am so sad that it is already over. We finally got internet at the house yesterday (hence my lack of posts). Then today we went to church this morning and bought my car this afternoon. We go to pick it up this week and I am super excited. :)

Overall, things have been slowly calming down and we are getting into somewhat of a routine. Life is good and we are so blessed that everything has fallen into place so far. So there ya have it folks! That's what we've been up to. I promise to write more often now that we have the internet and I have more free time. 

Until then, Happy New Year sweet friends. I hope 2013 is filled with love and joy for you and your family and that this year is even better than the last!! Much love!! xx